I'm not sure if you've heard of this bizarre patent licensing issue, but I heard it from my brother while at home during the winter break. So what's this issue? Basically, a company patented the act of scanning documents and emailing them to someone. WHAT? And on top of that, this company is asking for $900-$1200 per employee head at various companies for licensing. This just is such a bizarre thing to me. I do not know about you, but scanning and emailing documents is something I have done since anyone had the ability to do so! I will admit, it is pure genius to patent this idea. However, asking up to a thousand dollars for something that most people do on a weekly basis is just......I guess the word I'm going for is mean. I am interested to see how this licensing issue plays through.
To read more:
http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2013/01/patent-trolls-want-1000-for-using-scanners/
Very interesting story. Thanks for sharing :) In my opinion, this Atlanta law firm is totally for trolling. It knows that it may not win against big companies that, of course, also scan and email documents. It knows the case will end up in settlement in the court. And this law firm has nothing to lose...
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with you Alisha. Especially because, as you stated, it is not something new that nobody before had thought of, and even if they were the first people to file the patent I have no idea how it got passed. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteI also came across the issue of Patent Trolls this week, although it was a different case (I wrote about it in my own blog as well). I agree that this is a really sensitive issue, because on one hand we need patents to protect IP and encourage innovation but on the other hand, loopholes in patent law enable patent trolls such as the ones you described to do what they do. It really is a complicated issue!
ReplyDeleteInteresting read Alisha, I once read an article that focused on a company out in Silicon Valley that does nothing but purchase patents in order to sue. I wish I could remember what they were called, but it's definitely a lucrative business for those that have chosen that path.
ReplyDeleteGreat read, thanks a lot for sharing. I think it is absurd also but absolutely smart to try and patent something people do on a weekly basis. I don't know what the outcome of it will be, but I'm very interested to see how this plays out.
ReplyDeleteThe idea of patenting the action of scanning and emailing a document sounds far-fetched--can a prior art, common-place action be patented? I can see how a company might be able to license software that automatically emailed documents that had been scanned.
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